ICYMI: Mikie Sherrill Supported By Anti-Union Groups, Called Out For Hypocrisy on MAGA Billionaire Elon Musk

“Doing the right thing shouldn’t require getting caught first.”

- Steve Sweeney on Congresswoman Sherrill receiving money from anti-union group

Woodbury, NJ - Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill has been on defense for the last week, forced to answer a slew of questions about her campaign and her backers. First, Steve Sweeney called out Sherrill for taking Elon Musk’s money and repeatedly refusing to give it up – all while fundraising off saying she’ll stand up to him. Then, labor leaders sounded the alarm on a major anti-union group making huge donations to a group supporting Sherrill, a clear signal that union busters see Mikie as their favorite candidate.

Read key excerpts from reporting below:

Sweeney slams Sherrill for SpaceX contributions | By David Wildstein, New Jersey Globe

• Mikie Sherrill took over $30,000 in campaign contributions from Elon Musk’s SpaceX political action committee while she was running for Congress and now one of her opponents in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, Steve Sweeney, wants her to give it back.

• Sweeney’s trigger was a fundraising email from Sherrill this morning, alleging that Musk “will try to buy the New Jersey governor’s race for Republicans.”

• “Sherrill took tens of thousands from Elon Musk and used his money, and then she turns around and asks the public to donate to her to stop him? She can’t have it both ways,” Sweeney said.

• The former Senate President hammered Sherrill for taking money from Musk, “the same guy who wants to gut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, hurting New Jersey’s families, seniors, and the disabled community.”

• “(It’s) not only incredibly disingenuous and misleading, but an insult to Democrats everywhere,” Sweeney stated.  “You can’t make this shit up.”

• Sherill has said she would not return the Musk-related money because it was to her congressional race and has already been spent; she had $184,065 remaining in her federal campaign account at the end of last year.

• Sweeney recently called on Gov. Phil Murphy and the legislature to repeal a 2015 law that offered special treatment to another Musk company, Tesla, by allowing direct sales to consumers by bypassing auto dealerships.

• “In light of what Elon Musk is doing in Washington to hurt working people, his special treatment in New Jersey law should be ended,” he said. “New Jerseyans deserve a level playing field that ensures that all automakers, including Tesla, follow the same rules as everyone else.”

Sherrill group will return $25,000 from group seen as anti-union after labor leaders object | By David Wildstein, New Jersey Globe

• A group allied with Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair) is returning a $25,000 contribution from an organization viewed by some as rabidly anti-union after being called out by labor leaders for taking money from a trade association that mostly supports Republicans, including President Donald Trump.

• One Giant Leap Action, a non-profit affiliated with Sherrill’s super PAC, One Giant Leap, took the money on November 18, 2024 – the day Sherill announced she would seek the Democratic nomination for governor – from the NJ Merit PAC, the dark money arm of the Association of Builders and Contractors (ABC).

• The ABC supports weakening prevailing wage laws, banning project labor agreements, and blocking attempts to organize and collectively bargain.

• “It is deeply concerning to see anti-union funding flowing into a campaign that seeks support from the men and women of the building trades,” said Bill Mullen, the president of the New Jersey State Building and Construction Trades Council and a supporter of a Sherrill opponent, Steve Sweeney. “Candidates’ choices about who they align with speak volumes about their priorities.”

• Mullen said he can’t ignore contributions from organizations that “actively worked to dismantle union protections and drive down wages.”

• “Accepting support from organizations and individuals who have cannot be ignored, particularly by those who claim to stand with us,” the labor boss said.

• …For [Steve Sweeney], a union ironworker and former Senate President, the return of the money came too late.

• “ABC is one of the most anti-union organizations in the country, dedicated to underpaying workers, weakening labor protections, and undermining middle-class families. As a lifelong member of the building trades, I’ve seen firsthand how unions uplift hardworking people and improve their quality of life. It’s deeply troubling that any Democratic candidate for Governor would accept money from ABC,” he said. “While I’m glad Congresswoman Sherrill’s backers are returning the donation, doing the right thing shouldn’t require getting caught first.”

• NJ Merit PAC donated $20,000 to Kitchen Table Conservatives, a super PAC supporting Republican Jack Ciattarelli for governor, and another $5,000 directly to Ciattarelli’s campaign.